Arrow Video’s December Releases Include Kim Basinger Sci-Fi Comedy, Collection Of Shaw Brothers Kung Fu Films & More

Arrow Video has announced three new titles to join their collection on Blu-Ray this December: My Stepmother Is An Alien (1988), Shawscope: Volume One (1970s) and Giallo Collection (Yellow Edition) (1972, 1973 & 1975). These represent a cult favorite sci-fi comedy, a collection from the company that popularized kung fu films and launched many careers of some of Hong Kong’s biggest stars and a giallo starter kit for new fans of the murder-mystery genre. Details on these films can be found below:

Giallo Essentials [Yellow Edition]

Street Date: December 7, 2021

Synopsis: Arrow Video continues its exploration of Italian cult cinema with this second volume of Giallo Essentials, bringing together three more suspense-filled exemplars of the genre! In Massimo Dallamano’s What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (1972), hot-headed Inspector Silvestri (Claudio Cassinelli, The Suspicious Death of a Minor) and rookie Assistant District Attorney Vittoria Stori (Giovanna Ralli, Cold Eyes of Fear) investigate the apparent suicide of a teenage girl, leading them to a sordid prostitution ring whose abusers occupy the highest echelons of Italian society. Sergio Martino’s Torso (1973) helped lay the groundwork for the American Slasher Movie: when a ruthless killer begins to target the female university students of Perugia, Jane (Suzy Kendall, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) and her friends flee for the peace of the countryside, only to discover that the threat isn’t far behind. Finally, Andrea Bianchi’s Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975) delivers depravity in droves as ambitious photographer Magda (Edwige Fenech, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) and her on-off boyfriend, love rat Carlo (Nino Castelnuovo, The English Patient), team up to solve the spate of highly sexualized murders that are rocking a prestigious Milanese fashion house. Featuring grisly murders, amateur sleuths and motorcycle-riding maniacs, these iconic gialli are restored in 2K from their original negatives and are presented alongside a raft of juicy extras!

Bonus Materials
  • 2K restorations from the original negatives
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations
  • Two versions of Torso, the original 94-minute Italian cut and 90-minute English cut
  • Original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks*
  • English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtracks
  • Rigid box packaging with new artwork by Haunt Love in windowed Giallo Essentials slipcover
  • DISC 1: WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS?
  • Commentary by giallo expert Troy Howarth
  • Video essay by Kat Ellinger, editor-in-chief of Diabolique Magazine
  • Eternal Melody, interview with composer Stelvio Cipriani
  • Dallamano’s Touch, interview with editor Antonio Siciliano
  • Unused footage
  • Alternate English opening titles
  • Italian theatrical trailer
  • Image gallery
  • DISC 2: TORSO
  • Commentary critic by Kat Ellinger
  • Interview with co-writer/director Sergio Martino
  • Interview with actor Luc Merenda
  • Interview with co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi
  • Interview with filmmaker Federica Martino, daughter of Sergio Martino
  • 2017 Abertoir International Horror Festival Q&A with Sergio Martino
  • Interview with Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film
  • Option to view the film with the alternate US opening title sequence
  • Italian and English theatrical trailers
  • DISC 3: STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER
  • Commentary by HORRORPEDIA.com’s Adrian J. Smith and David Flint
  • Sex and Death with a Smile, video essay by Kat Ellinger on giallo icon Edwige Fenech
  • A Good Man for the Murders, interview with actor Nino Castelnuevo
  • The Blonde Salamander, interview with actress Erna Schurer
  • The Art of Helping, interview with assistant director Daniele Sangiorgi
  • Jack of All Trades, interview with actor and production manager Tino Polenghi
  • Two versions of the opening scene
  • Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
  • Image gallery
  • *The English audio track on the original cut of Torso has portions missing, which were either never recorded or have been lost. These sequences are presented in Italian subtitled in English.

 

My Stepmother Is An Alien

Street Date: December 14, 2021

Synopsis: He married a girl from out of town… Way out of town. Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters), Kim Basinger (The Nice Guys) and Jon Lovitz (Southland Tales) star in a fish-out-of-water comedy with a sci-fi twist that questions whether a romance between two star-crossed lovers who are literally worlds apart can ever work. When widowed astronomer Steve Mills (Aykroyd) inadvertently causes a gravitational disruption in deep space, a race of hyper-advanced alien lifeforms sends one of their own to investigate, disguised in the alluring human form of Celeste (Basinger). Tasked with seducing the lovelorn Steve in a bid to gain access to his scientific research, Celeste finds herself falling for the man she’s been sent to swindle. But they’ve not counted on Steve’s young daughter Jessie (Alyson Hannigan, TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer), who’s none too thrilled by the prospect of a new mother – especially not one from another planet. Funny and touching in equal measure, My Stepmother is an Alien is an offbeat and at times surprisingly risqué comedy that confirms the adage that what unites us is far greater than what divides us… even if what divides us happens to be an entire galaxy.

Bonus Materials
  • Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative
  • High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
  • Original lossless 2.0 stereo audio
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
  • Brand new audio commentary by critic Bryan Reesman
  • Cosmetic Encounters: Directing My Stepmother is An Alien, a brand new interview with director Richard Benjamin
  • Original trailer
  • Image gallery
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Amanda Reyes

 

Shawscope: Volume One [Limited Edition]

Street Date: December 28, 2021

Synopsis: This inaugural collection by Arrow Video presents twelve jewels from the Shaw crown, all released within the 1970s, kicking off in 1972 with Korean director Jeong Chang-hwa’s King Boxer, the film that established kung fu cinema as an international box office powerhouse when it hit Stateside cinemas under the title Five Fingers of Death. From there we see Chang Cheh (arguably Shaw’s most prolific director) helm the blood-soaked brutality of The Boxer from Shantung and two self-produced films in his ‘Shaolin Cycle’ series, Five Shaolin Masters and its prequel Shaolin Temple, before taking a detour into Ho Meng Hua’s King Kong-inspired Mighty Peking Man, one of the most unmissably insane giant monster films ever made. Chang’s action choreographer Lau Kar-leung then becomes a director in his own right, propelling his adoptive brother Gordon Liu to stardom in Challenge of the Masters and Executioners from Shaolin. Not to be outdone, Chang introduces some of Shaw’s most famous faces to the screen, including Alexander Fu Sheng fighting on the streets of San Francisco in Chinatown Kid and, of course, the mighty Venom Mob in The Five Venoms and Crippled Avengers. Finally, Lau and Liu successfully meld high kicks with humor in two of their masterworks, Heroes of the East and Dirty Ho, both co-starring fan favorite Hsiao Hou. From kickass kung fu killers to crazy kaiju knockoffs to culture clash comedies, this carefully curated and gorgeously presented selection of all-time Shaw Brothers classics merely represents the tip of the iceberg of the studio’s rich output, making it both an ideal starting point for newcomers and a treat for hardcore fans alike.

Bonus Materials
  • Hi-Def (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of King Boxer, Boxer from Shantung, 5 Shaolin Masters, Shaolin Temple, Mighty Peking Man, Challenge of the Masters, Executioners from Shaolin, Chinatown Kid, Five Venoms, Crippled Avengers, Heroes of the East, Dirty Ho
  • Brand new 2K restorations by Arrow Films from the original camera negatives of King Boxer, The Boxer from Shantung, Challenge of the Masters, The Five Venoms, Crippled Avengers and Dirty Ho
  • Brand new 2K master of the longer international cut of Chinatown Kid from original film elements
  • Original lossless mono Mandarin, Cantonese (where applicable) and English audio
  • Newly translated English subtitles for each film
  • Hours of bonus features including brand new commentaries and critic appreciations on selected films, new and archive interviews with cast and crew, alternate credit sequences, trailer and image galleries for each film and more to be announced!
  • 60 page book featuring new writing by David Desser, Simon Abrams and Terrence J. Brady, with cast and crew info for each film plus trivia and soundtrack info
  • New artwork for each film by artists including Matthew Griffin, Chris Malbon, Jacob Phillips, Ilan Sheady, Tony Stella, Darren Wheeling and Jolyon Yates
  • COMING IN 2022… SHAWSCOPE VOLUME TWO, AND MORE!

 

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